Archive for the ‘Links To The Present’ Category

LeBron James made about $30 million from owning a small stake in Beats Electronics, also known as Beats By Dre, when the company was bought by Apple. He was an early investor in that company, and he may get to be an early investor in another innovative project once again. The Ohio City start-up called Phenom promised LeBron a stake in their business if he returned to the Cavs, and, although the promise was a PR stunt, they have drawn up papers to give the King some of their brainchild. This start-up has an app for amateur athletes to show off their gear and the staff they train with. The president of Phenom wants to release some more features for the app before presenting LeBron with the ownership paperwork. Right now, the business is not generating revenue and is focused on creating a following.

Yesterday, Kyrie Irving reached a new milestone in his basketball career, MVP of the FIBA World Cup. He had 26 points on 10-13 shots and 6-6 threes to lead all scorers during the 37 point Team USA defeat of Serbia. Irving is coming back to the Cavs a more experienced player and should be ready to play alongside LeBron James this season. Irving has the right attitude to play with All-Star level guys.

“With USA Basketball, you’re part of something bigger than yourself,” Irving said. “I put myself in there. Whatever coach needed, whatever all my teammates needed, I was willing to do every single day. I think we all shared that, the heart and passion. (more…)

Dion Waiters is getting some attention these days. If you need a laugh this afternoon, check out Will Gibson’s swag evaluation over at Waiting For Next Year. The results are shown above. Dion is representing the Cavs well.

Let me tell you something about Cleveland fans. These moments don’t happen for us, they happen to us. Except this time. Except when the greatest athlete to ever suit up for Cleveland exploded from Boston’s big green grip with no regard for the Celtic defenders, with no regard for the concept of basketball as a team game, with no regard for … well, you know.

Kevin Harlan’s forceful narration was the perfect punctuation. He said what nobody else in the moment could. Cavs fans could do nothing but scramble for inaudible exuberance. Celtics fans could do nothing but swear. Neutral fans could do nothing but shake their heads in appreciative disbelief. Doug Collins could do nothing but register the audible equivalent of slack-jawed astonishment.

The news today is going to be short and simple. Read it with your coffee before heading outside to enjoy some grilled delights and cold beers with family and friends. I’ll start with the “Not A (Team USA) Recap: Team USA 98, Turkey 77.” The US team faced their first scare of the tournament when they entered the locker room down five at halftime. Sekou Smith of NBA.com has a good summary of the game up if you missed it. Kyrie Irving continued adding to his international resume; he had 13 points on 5-9 shots to go with five assists and four rebounds. The other guards struggled. Derrick Rose shot 0-4 for two points while Stephen Curry shot 3-9 for nine points. Curry also had five steals. (more…)

Kevin Love wants money, and you can’t blame him. Brian Windhorst explains Love’s contract situation and why he isn’t going to sign his player option for next year or take an extension right now. It’s nothing personal towards the Cavs organization.

Summing it up, if Love signed today, he’d assure himself $37 million more guaranteed. If he waits until next summer, he can assure himself $107 million more guaranteed.

And, of course, if he does get hurt, the player option for next season is a great insurance policy worth $16.7 million.

Today is going to start with “Not A (Team USA) Recap: Team USA 101, Slovenia 71 (Or, Making Me Proud).” Kyrie Irving is impressing the world during these FIBA tournament exhibition games. Once again, he showed ridiculous efficiency getting 13 points on 4-5 shooting to go with two assists. This performance out did the other point guards. Derrick Rose shot 0-3 for three points and Stephen Curry had a 3-5 night for ten points. Kyrie is going to be going into the NBA season red hot if he keeps up these Team USA performances. (more…)

Cleveland is officially on the international radar. Kyrie Irving has competed for and has earned a spot on Team USA. He has exceeded expectations while earning that spot, and he will be starting tonight against Slovenia. He might even take turns alternating at the starting spot with Derrick Rose once the actual FIBA tournament starts according to Mike Krzyzewski.

“We’ll see as thing goes on. We might alternate ’em. Both of them are going to play significant minutes.”

Kevin Love is officially a Cavalier, and the Cavaliers officially have a big three. The news is old, as Kevin Love to the Cavs has seemed liked a done deal for a while. The internet has pretty much examined what the team will look like now, but there are still some new articles trickling out.

First off, for anyone wondering how Kevin Love became a Cav, Brian Windhorst examined the entire process of acquiring Love for ESPN. It was luck, the Heat imploding, and some crafty roster moves that kept the cap clear enough to have the space for LeBron James to return. Basically, each thing that fell into place is something that goes against the bad history associated with Cleveland sports. The Cavs have used up all the collective Cleveland luck: sorry Indians, sorry Browns. (more…)

The Lineup: (Click for Author’s Archive)

Nate Smith is an Associate Editor. He grew up in Anchorage, Alaska, and moved to NE Ohio in 2000. He adopted the Cavs in 2003 and graduated from Kent State in 2009 with a BA in English. He can be contacted at oldseaminer@gmail.com or @oldseaminer on Twitter.

Tom Pestak is an Associate Editor. He's from the west side of Cleveland and lives and (mostly) dies by the success and (mostly) failures of his beloved teams. You can watch his fanaticism during Cavs games @tompestak.

Robert Attenweiler is a Staff Writer. Originally from OH, he's long made his home in NYC where he writes plays and screenplays (www.disgracedproductions.com) some of which end up being about Ohio, basketball or both. He has also written for The Classical and the blog Raising the Cadavalier. You can contact him at rattenweiler@gmail.com or @cadavalier.

Benjamin Werth is a Staff Writer. He was born in Cleveland and raised in Mentor, OH. He now lives in Germany where he is an opera singer and actor. He can be reached at blfwerth@gmail.com.

Cory Hughey is a Staff Writer. He grew up in Youngstown, the Gary, Indiana of Ohio. He graduated from Youngstown State in 2008 with a worthless telecommunications degree. He can be contacted at theleperfromwatts@yahoo.com or @coryhughey on Twitter.

David Wood is our Links Editor. He is a 2012 Graduate of Syracuse University with an English degree who loves bikes, beer, basketball, writing, and Rimbaud. He can be reached on Twitter: @nothingwood.

Mallory Factor is the voice of Cavs: The Podcast. By day Mallory works in fundraising and by night he runs a music business company. To see his music endeavors check out www.fivetracks.com. Hit him up at Malloryfactorii@gmail.com or @Malfii.

John Krolik is the Editor Emeritus of Cavs: The Blog. At present, he is pursuing a law degree at Tulane University. You can contact him at johnkrolik@gmail.com or @johnkrolik.

Follow Me On Twitter

General NBA

Other Places To Find My Work

The Comment Monster

A monster lives in the comments section of Cavs: The Blog, and he likes to feed on comments. We have very little idea about when he will strike. What we do know is that comments with 2 or more links will get filed into the spam folder, as will comments with foul or discriminatory language. The comment monster also seems to enjoy extra-long comments, so if you have a long comment, you may want to press copy before submitting a long comment and break it into multiple pieces if the monster eats it. If you are having particular trouble with the monster, email one of us and we will talk to him for you.